Legal cases involving oncology matters are bound to be emotionally straining for both the plaintiff and defendant. Since most people know someone who has battled with cancer, professional opinions on oncology cases can easily stray from objective to subjective. As a trial attorney, understanding the nature of the case and identifying the correct expert becomes challenging for this reason.

Mednick Associates, a leading nationwide medical expert witness and legal nurse consulting firm, works with and locates numerous oncologists who are able to provide objective opinions on legal cases in a wide array of oncology specialties. Questions asked during their search and screening process are outlined below:

1.) Medical or Surgical?

Many oncology cases require a medical and surgical oncologist to review and opine. The difference lies in the specialty. A medical oncologist will opine on the nature of the cancer and the diagnosis, while the surgical oncologist will focus on the surgery related to the cancer. At times, they may disagree, which is why Mednick Associates makes sure to screen the case through both experts in order to present a consolidated opinion to their client.

2.) What type of oncologist is needed for the case?

Many cancers present in specific parts of the anatomy, and numerous physicians can opine on such diagnoses. However, some diagnoses, like liver cancer, may present as the cancer spreads throughout the body. Knowing the source of the cancer is important. An oncologist who specializes in liver cancer may not be the most appropriate expert for a case where cancer originated elsewhere, even though the patient presents with liver cancer. Mednick Associates’ staff of Registered Nurses (RNs) reviews the pertinent medical records, determines the true source of the cancer, and finds the appropriate oncologist to opine. This saves time and money for Mednick clients by avoiding unnecessary case reviews.

3.) Is a non-oncologist required?

Many times the damages associated with an oncology case stem from issues caused by the cancer, but out of the realm of an oncologist opinion. Sometimes, endocrinologists, general surgeons, or internal medicine experts are required to opine on subsequent care, treatment, or follow-up procedures.

Mednick Associates handles hundreds of oncology cases per year, whether malpractice, tort, or product liability related. With a network of over 90 oncologists and growing, they are able to screen cases quickly, identify the appropriate oncology expert witness and have a case reviewed for a plaintiff or defense attorney. Their experts are physicians first and only devote a small amount of their practice to legal work. This characteristic of their experts allows for a highly credible expert in the courtroom or deposition. To contact them for further information on oncology or other medical expert specialties, please call 203.966.3000 or reach them online at http://www.mednickassociates.com.

An expert witness can help during the entire process of case preparation. Naturally, you have to expertly conduct your own investigations, write your own report, and testify on your own. However, you and your technical experience can contribute in other ways to the accomplishment of your side’s efforts in the matter.
Lawyers will often submit pleadings – legal arguments – to the court. They will frequently ask you to write and contribute technical paragraphs of text to each pleading and then you may be asked to sign the document, called an affidavit or a declaration.
Attorneys will frequently prepare, as a part of the discovery process, a series of written requests called interrogatories. Attorneys on both sides of the case will submit a series of such requests for the production of facts and documents. This set of formal requests is a tedious series of inquiries used to discover as much as possible about what the other side knows. Your attorneys will ask you to examine such interrogatories from the other side, and you will help them prepare such interrogatories for your side.
Review your attorney’s discovery request prior to submission to ensure that the request has covered the technical elements. Ensure that the request spans all of the possible data for which he can ask, and that the phraseology of the request is technically precise. The burden in the legal system is that each side must do its best to Learn on point data from the other side. Although the discovery process permits each side to ask for documents and relevant material, the discovery requests must ask explicitly. If the document doesn’t ask precisely for technical elements, the other side doesn’t have to provide the data. Your job in this early phase is to ensure that documents prepared by your lawyer are both accurate and complete, from a technical perspective.

Judd Robbins has been an internationally recognized expert witness since 1986 in the US and in the UK. In 2010, his book “Expert Witness Training” was published by Presentation Dynamics. Robbins has advanced degrees from UC Berkeley and the University of Michigan, has been an Information Systems manager and an Education Systems manager, and consults in both computer and legal issues. Learn more about Mr. Robbins and his Expert Witness Training materials at www.juddrobbins.com

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